Shirly Ong
English 48B
25 January, 2008
Journal #6 Mark Twain
Quote:
“Twain’s many travels, including lecture tours around the globe, did not erase the rich material of his Missouri boyhood, which ran deep in his memory and imagination.”
Summary:
This is a quote from the introduction of Mark Twain. (Page 102 of The Norton Anthology – American Literature)
Response:
This quote of description of Mark Twain is clearly proved by his masterpiece, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The story takes place in the Mississippi Valley, Missouri. The protagonist, Huckleberry Finn and his companion Jim traveled down the Mississippi River. In their adventure, Huck and Jim have encountered different kinds of people and incidents. The stories have demonstrated society classes in Missouri at that time. It reflects Mark Twain’s childhood in Missouri. In the first place, the public order in Missouri was not very good. Robberies and murders are common. For instance, Huck and Jim met murderers and thieves in their journey. This shows that living conditions were poor and dangerous. Moreover, people generally do not have enough money to improve their livings. Robbing and murdering are one of the solutions to them. Yet, these people are not in the lowest social class. The status of slaves is the worst. They have no rights at all. They were not considered as human. Obviously, there were also higher classes in the society, which appeared in the story. For example, the Widow Douglas and her sister have a better status in the society. They can afford to adopt Huck and own a slave. She can even offer Huck new clothes. In short, Huck’s stories have painted a picture of Missouri society at the time of Mark Twain’s childhood. Also, as stated in the explanatory before the story starts, a number of dialects are used in this piece of work. Therefore, it is apparent that Mark Twain never forgets the memory of his boyhood in Missouri.
English 48B
25 January, 2008
Journal #6 Mark Twain
Quote:
“Twain’s many travels, including lecture tours around the globe, did not erase the rich material of his Missouri boyhood, which ran deep in his memory and imagination.”
Summary:
This is a quote from the introduction of Mark Twain. (Page 102 of The Norton Anthology – American Literature)
Response:
This quote of description of Mark Twain is clearly proved by his masterpiece, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The story takes place in the Mississippi Valley, Missouri. The protagonist, Huckleberry Finn and his companion Jim traveled down the Mississippi River. In their adventure, Huck and Jim have encountered different kinds of people and incidents. The stories have demonstrated society classes in Missouri at that time. It reflects Mark Twain’s childhood in Missouri. In the first place, the public order in Missouri was not very good. Robberies and murders are common. For instance, Huck and Jim met murderers and thieves in their journey. This shows that living conditions were poor and dangerous. Moreover, people generally do not have enough money to improve their livings. Robbing and murdering are one of the solutions to them. Yet, these people are not in the lowest social class. The status of slaves is the worst. They have no rights at all. They were not considered as human. Obviously, there were also higher classes in the society, which appeared in the story. For example, the Widow Douglas and her sister have a better status in the society. They can afford to adopt Huck and own a slave. She can even offer Huck new clothes. In short, Huck’s stories have painted a picture of Missouri society at the time of Mark Twain’s childhood. Also, as stated in the explanatory before the story starts, a number of dialects are used in this piece of work. Therefore, it is apparent that Mark Twain never forgets the memory of his boyhood in Missouri.
1 comment:
20/20 True, we never forget entirely. But Twain seems to have an almost "photographic memory" for detail.
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